Sports celebrities at Wimbledon: Why is everyone flocking to Centre Court?

An avid tennis fan knows that Wimbledon is the spot to be during the English summer. To watch your favorite in action on the grass, witness the masterful aces, thrilling rallies, and a close contest is all that a fan wants to experience, with the iconic strawberries and cream to savour. Now, is this all that attracts the whos and whos of different arenas to the All England Club? The rallies, the tennis stars, do the likes of Hollywood actors, cricketing legends, and F1 prodigies come to Centre Court for all that's mentioned here? Partly, yes. The other part is, however, the classic exposure that Wimbledon offers to these personalities.

The strategy behind celebrities gracing Wimbledon

Wimbledon 2025 is right at the cusp of its conclusion. Over two weeks of action in London saw the footfall of celebrities from every realm and different generations at Centre Court. Singers, actors, cricket and Bollywood stars from the subcontinent, you name them, they were there at Wimbledon. Virat Kohli, the modern-day legend of Indian cricket, arrived at Centre Court with his wife, the Bollywood star, Anushka Sharma. The cricketer-actor couple watched the fourth-round contest between the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur.

Over the course of the next few days, Wimbledon welcomed Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane, Brian Lara, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, among others. It's just the tip of the iceberg. Many English cricketers were in attendance, apart from other industries, which included Priyanka Chopra, Olivia Rodrigo, Andrew Garfield, Leonardo DiCaprio, and plenty of others, coming right down to the influencers as well.

The tennis season hosts four Grand Slam majors in the year. What sets Wimbledon apart from the US Open, Roland Garros, and the Australian Open? Wimbledon, regarded as the most iconic of all four majors, is now a status symbol. Being at Wimbledon, one is right in the radar of luxury brands like Ralph Lauren, Rolex, Moet, and Jaguar.

Sports and luxury fashion are now coming together. The phenomenon has been apparent for quite some time now. See Lewis Hamilton rocking F1 tracks as well as the Met Gala, that's an instance. However, it has never been as clear as Wimbledon, where sitting at Centre Court during a match that could span anywhere between minutes to multiple hours brings all the exposure that a celebrity aims for.

Exposure, networking, propping oneself right at the target of a luxury brand as maybe its next ambassador? Wimbledon is just the platform to do that, and the celebrities from all the arenas have identified the opportunity. For the Indian celebs? It is more like the global brands have identified their appeal and the power that the Indian market holds. Appeasing the Indian masses is a gold mine waiting to be tracked by the global brands, and doing it is easier when you bring one of their own to represent the brand.

Some brands strategically place their ambassadors at Centre Court to maximize visibility. A globally televised and closely followed event like Wimbledon offers the perfect stage for exposure. When a celebrity is seen at Wimbledon, it’s often a strategic PR move, designed to reach a specific, high-value audience. Wimbledon today is no longer just about tennis or sport. It has evolved into a luxury marketplace, a space where fashion, influence, and prestige intersect.